Homeschooling is banned in California

[sisterandcousinandaunt]

This is what I'm saying, guys. HSLDA loves this 'sky is falling" business. It sells memberships and increases donations. But they don't represent 'everyone' (look at this list of omitted groups, for example http://hsislegal.com/associations.asp) There's a ruling, yes. But the Governor, the State School Superintendent, and members of the state legislature, as well as several home-schooling groups

I thought many of you would like to know that the non-sectarian state
homeschool organizations, CHN and HSC have retained counsel to help defend
and protect homeschooling in light of the 2nd Appellate Court ruling that
rendered the opinion that independent homeschooling is illegal except
through the credentialed teacher/tutor exemption.

The announcement was made by Debbie Schwarzer, Co-Chair of the HSC
(http://www.hsc.org) Legal Team:

"I am thrilled to announce that we have been offered help by two of the
best law firms in the state (and country). The firms will be helping
us on a pro bono basis. That means they will donate (very expensive)
attorney time to help us figure out the best strategies for dealing
with the court issues, and they will help us prepare and file the
letters and briefs that we need.

Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati, which is headquartered in Palo
Alto, will be representing HSC. They had helped HSC back in some of
the dark days of Delaine Eastin's time, and their thorough research
helped us feel more comfortable that the advice we were giving the
world about private homeschooling was correct. In the spirit of full
disclosure, you should know that I worked there for many years, but
they made the decision to go forward because they think the case
presents interesting legal issues and they'd like to be on our side.

They will be working very closely with another firm, Baker & McKenzie,
which has 150 offices around the world and, conveniently, one across
the street from WSGR in Palo Alto. Jerry Salcido, who has been a
member of the HSC legal team for several years, is an attorney at that
office, and his firm has graciously agreed to donate their services as
well. Because we couldn't have two firms working for HSC, Baker and
McKenzie have agreed that CHN will be their named client.

We believe that HSC and CHN's interests in this case are very similar.
We have similar membership profiles, we want the same results, we
both think that help from professionals in dealing with the Supreme
Court will be invaluable. The firms will consult with each other to
make sure they are not duplicating efforts, but that they also aren't
leaving any important arguments out. They will also try to coordinate
their efforts with the other groups with which HSC and CHN have been
working, HSLDA, CHEA and Family Protection Ministries."

Karen Taylor of the California Homeschool Network Legal Team
(http://www.californiahomeschool.net) released a statement that concurred
and included this note:

"I met with Jerry Salcido and Debbie by phone yesterday. In addition to
being an attorney, Jerry is a homeschooling dad with young children, so you
can bet his heart is in this case!

...For those of you who are members of HSLDA, FPM, or CHEA, you'll be
pleased to know that HSC and CHN are remaining in contact with these
organizations as well, and they are in agreement that having several law
firms representing the various groups will strengthen the fight, so everyone
remains willing to work together for the good of all. I can't tell you how
pleased I am. This case is too big to be won by any one group, and the
cooperation is what homeschoolers want. Naturally, each group is looking
out for the interests of their members, but it's possible to do that and
also work in conjunction with others, and that's what we're doing."

are working on it.

Switch to decaf, guys.